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ticable for the road from the east to reach the Rocky Mountains in twelve or eighteen months, and to span these mountains in two years. "Next spring should see as many men at work on the eastern line as there will be on the western; the fall, fifteen to twenty thousand along the entire route; 1867 should count fifty thousand shovels, and picks, and drills, leveling the paths for the national highway; and in 1868, the hungry hearts of these people of the Pacific States should dance to the music of a hundred thousand strong-music sweeter and holier, even, than all the martial bands of the new Republic!"

As appropriate to the foregoing, we annex the following from a number of the Alta Californian, issued in the latter part of December, 1866:

"The bell is ringing on the Sierra Nevada and in the valley of the Platte; it is time to look out for the locomotive, and prepare for its approach. The Pacific Railroad is no longer a wild dream of an untrustworthy promise; it has been placed on the basis of a sound pecuniary investment, and its prospects are so good that it is progressing with a speed almost unequaled in the annals of railway history. It has already advanced so far as to have an important economical value; and before twelve months we may expect to see travelers go and come across the continent every day with the help of the rail.

"The two nominal and intermediate termini of the route are Omaha, on the Missouri River, and Sacramento, although a larger city than either can grow to be, must be the ultimate and real terminus or end. Traveling westward from Omaha, we reach Fort Kearney in 250 miles, the Forks of Platte in 350 miles, Julesburg in 450, Denver in 600, Salt Lake City in 1,200, Austin in 1,600, Virginia City in 1,800, and Sacramento in 1,975 miles.

"But the road is now in running order from Omaha to Fort Kearney, 250 miles, at the eastern end, and from Sacramento to Alta, 70 miles, at the western end, so that 1,655 miles only are to be built; and the Union Pacific Railway Company has promised that the cars shall run to the Forks of Platte on the 1st of January; so the distance will have been reduced another hundred miles by the beginning of 1867. Peculiar influences are driving the work ahead at both ends. In the first place, Congress has provided that each company shall have as much of the road as it can build; so that the company which advances with the most rapidity gets the most. And the trade of the interior of the continent makes it of vast importance to get as much as possible. It is now evident that the Pacific Railroad is to be one of the most profitable investments in the country.

"Stages can average about six miles an hour, and at this rate the 1,655 miles of stage road between Alta and Fort Kearney can be traversed in less than twelve days, while the trip from San Francisco to Alta can be made in ten hours, and that from Fort Kearney to New York in less than four days. Thus we see that, in case of need, the trip from the metropolis of the East to that of the West of our continent can be made regularly within seventeen days. By two hundred miles of additional rail, one day's time is saved, and before the

end of next year the trip will be made to New York regularly, overland, in fourteen or fifteen days, and so many travelers will go that way that the stage company will find it profitable to make better time and provide better stages along the road. It is not improbable that within three years we shall be able to make a continuous trip to New York by rail. So let us be prepared for the approach of the locomotive."

CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES.

WE, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this CONSTITUTION for the United States of America.

ARTICLE I.

SECTION 1. All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.

SEC. 2. The House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen every second year by the people of the several States, and the electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State Legislature.

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No person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.

Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all other persons. The actual enumeration shall be made within three years after the first meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent term of ten years, in such manner as they shall by law direct. The number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand, but each State shall have at least one Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to choose three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three.

When vacancies happen in the representation from any State, the Executive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies.

The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker and other officers, and shall have the sole power of impeachment. (749)

SEC. 3. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote.

Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of the first election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three classes. The seats of the Senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the second year, of the second class at the expiration of the fourth year, and of the third class at the expiration of the sixth year, so that one-third may be chosen every second year; and if vacancies happen by resignation or otherwise, during the recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary appointments until the next meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such vacancies.

No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the age of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.

The Vice-President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided.

The Senate shall choose their other officers and also a President pro tempore, in the absence of the Vice-President, or when he shall exercise the office of President of the United States.

The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. When sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief-Justice shall preside; and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of twothirds of the members present.

Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States: but the party convicted shall, nevertheless, be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment, according to law.

SEC. 4. The times, places, and manner of holding elections for Senators and Representatives shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing Senators.

The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by law appoint a different day.

SEC. 5. Each house shall be the judge of the elections, returns, and qualification of its own members, and a majority of each shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members in such manner and under such penalties as each house may provide.

Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of twothirds, expel a member.

Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time to

time publish the same, excepting such parts as may in their judgment require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of the members of either house on any question shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those present, be entered on the journal.

Neither house, during the session of Congress, shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which the two houses shall be sitting.

SEC. 6. The Senators and Representatives shall receive a compensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in all cases, except treason, felony, and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the session of their respective houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any speech or debate in either house, they shall not be questioned in any other place.

No Senator or Representative shall, during the time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time; and no person holding any office under the United States, shall be a member of either house during his continuance in office.

SEC. 7. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments as on other bills.

Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a law, be presented to the President of the United States; if he approve, he shall sign it; but if not, he shall return it, with his objections, to that house, in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the objections at large on their journal, and procéed to reconsider it. If after such reconsideration two-thirds of that house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other house, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds of that house, it shall become a law. But in all such cases the votes of both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the journal of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be returned by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law.

Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States; and, before the same shall take effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two-thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the rules and limitations prescribed in the case of a bill.

SEC. 8. The Congress shall have power

To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United

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